Marluxia Wants to Be a Child
by MasterofHearts1313
Summary: And here we go. One last Want story. I'm sure everyone realizes that there's a bit of an age difference between Marluxia and Namine, but what if there wasn't? Read if you love Marumine fluff and loads of chaos.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: What is His Age Again?

Marluxia walked down the hall nonchalantly. There wasn't a single thing in the nonexistent world that could bother him. Nope. Nobody could bother him now.

Luxord walked down the other way, reading some sort of Las Vegas travel brochure. He glanced up for a moment and waved at Marluxia. "Hey, Cradle Robber." He returned to his magazine and walked past the pink-haired man.

Marluxia, on the other hand, stopped in his tracks. Unfortunately for him, Luxord was a Nobody, and the blond Gambler had bothered him. He turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Cradle Robber?"

Luxord turned around, blinking blankly. "What are you calling me a Cradle Robber for?"

Marluxia pointed to himself. "I didn't. You called me one."

Luxord smiled and shrugged. "Oh. Everything's okay then." He turned and started walking down the hall again.

Marluxia couldn't exactly bring himself to chase after the Gmbler of Fate. Rather, he turned and walked down to Namine's room. He gently opened the door and peered in. "Good morning, Namine?"

Namine sat up in her bed and stretched. After yawning, she blinked her eyes a couple times and looked at the pink-haired man. "Good morning, Marluxia."

Marluxia gingerly stepped toward the base of the bed. "Namine, do you mind if I ask you an odd question?"

Namine tilted her head curiously. "Well, it is odd that you would ask to ask an odd question."

Marluxia held up his hand sand shook them. "No no no. I mean," he rubbed the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling, "do you think I'm a cradle robber?"

Namine raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that you steal cradles, or that you steal blankets from cradles? Either way, I don't think you actually do it." She placed a finger on her chin in thought. "At least, not as far as I know."

Marluxia stared at Namine for a second. He proceeded to palm his face and laugh nervously. "Oh Namine. You are simply adorable when you are so innocent." He pulled his hand down and smiled gently. "You see, the term cradle robber means that someone is dating someone much too young too be appropriate."

Namine blinked a couple times. She bit one of her fingertips and looked up at the ceiling. "Dating someone too young for them?"

Marluxia swallowed and smiled awkwardly. "Let me explain. You see, you know that Axel and Larxene are both about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, right?"

Namine nodded.

"And how Roxas and Xion are both fifteen?"

Namine nodded again.

"Well, when you take someone like me, who is about twenty-four, and someone like yourself, who is fifteen, some people might find it," Marluxia took a deep breath and sighed, "an awkward relationship."

Namine swallowed lightly. "Do you mean to tell me that I'm too young? We're not even dating."

Marluxia jumped and crossed his arms back and forth defensively. "No. No. Not at all. Nothing is wrong with you!" He lowered his hands and bowed his head. "Rather, do you think I'm too old?"

Namine blinked a few times. She giggled. "Marluxia, you're not old."

Marluxia laughed nervously. "Well, there's a difference between being old and being too old. Or rather, too much older than yourself."

Namine shook her head, blushing. "Of course not. We love each other, and that should be all there is to it."

Marluxia nodded. "Thank you, Namine. I needed to hear that." He stood up. "I'll go get you some breakfast." He walked back to the door.

As Marluxia closed the door, he turned to see Xigbar hanging from the ceiling. "Hey, Pinkie, how's the little girl?"

Marluxia blindly swung his arm forward, smashing the eye-patched Nobody across the face.

Xigbar landed in an odd position on the floor. He slowly stood up, rubbing his cheek. "Sheesh, dude, you don't need to get violent."

Marluxia panted, patting over his heart. "And you don't need to go around sneaking up on people." His eyes flashed. "And Namine is not a little girl. She's fifteen!" He stomped back the Freeshooter.  
After watching Marluxia walk down the hall, Xigbar looked between the Graceful Assassin and the white door. After doing this several times, he shrugged. "Was it something I said?"

---

Okay, here was the inspiration for this story. I hear a lot of people snapping at Marluxia and Marumine because of the pedophilic/Lolita complex implications of the pairing. Well, to start off, I would like to note that this is very poor labeling for aggression. A Lolita/Nymphet is a girl around the ages of eight to twelve. Some notes will state that Lolitas may be as late as thirteen and even fourteen in age. However, Namine is typically believed to be fifteen years old, meaning that she does not fall under the Lolita category.

Truth be told, not much more than a hundred years ago, it wasn't too weird for girls around the ages of thirteen to fifteen to be married, let alone when they're older.

Besides, when you think about how long humans live, a ten year age difference really shouldn't be that heart-stopping. I mean, it should actually take an eighteen to twenty year age difference to make someone a cradle robber. Of course, that's just my opinion.

Please, enjoy, review, and await future chaos.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Turn of Time

After Marluxia had set Namine up with breakfast, he gave her a pat on the head and walked down the stairs. He held his chin and stared at the floor as he walked. "Cradle robber? Little girl?" He swallowed. "Even Xaldin and Zexion referred to me as a Lolita Lover and Humbert*."

Marluxia frowned. "Have they always referred to me like that?" He scratched his chin. "I mean, we ordinarily live in two completely different castles. Well, Zexion usually lives in a much deeper part of Castle Oblivion, so he might as well be living in a different castle." He shook his head. "I just don't recall. Is there something I've done recently that should cause them to act this way? It's not like Namine is actually going to grow any younger." He strolled past a door with a large number IV on it. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. "But I suppose that doesn't mean I can't." He turned and ran through the door.

Inside the room was a great menagerie of strange machines tubes of miscellaneous liquids flowing all around the room.

Marluxia swallowed as he walked through the room. He had to duck under a few tubes and step lightly amongst some machines that looked eerily like bear traps. "Vexen! Vexen, I know you're in here! Otherwise, the door wouldn't be unlocked!"

An opening in the middle of the of the room gave enough room for a collection of tables with vials and bottles of bizarre chemicals.

Marluxia looked around, cautious that anything could explode at anytime. "Vexen?"

Suddenly, the Chilly Academic popped up from behind a table, solid black goggles over his eyes. "What is it that brings you here and makes you think you can interrupt me?"

Marluxia swallowed. "Well, first off, could you put those vials down? I don't want you to pour something and blow us up to who knows where while we're talking."

Vexen frowned as he placed his chemicals back on the table. "All right, but make it quick. I can't let these chemicals sit around for too long."

Marluxia nodded. "Well, this might sound like a bizarre question, but do you think it's possible for one to be able to reduce their age?"

"Reduce their age?" Vexen rubbed his chin. He flipped his goggles up. "A very curious question indeed. Of course, you're not the first to ask it, and I doubt you will be the last." He walked around the table. "My question is why should you ask? You don't have a wrinkle, a gray hair, or a thinning section on your scalp. You're young and strong, Why would you be concerned about reducing your age. There's no evident profit to it."

Marluxia blushed slightly, but he shook it off. "My reasons are my own."

"Very well. I will not pry." Vexen cracked his fingers. "Rather, I wish to ask whether you wish to reduce your own age or whether Xigbar or Xemnas put you up to this. The superiors rarely seem to realize that my work takes time."

Marluxia held his hands up and shook his head. "No. No. I'm asking for my own means."

Vexen rubbed his chin and smiled. "Really?" He walked back around his first table and continued past others. "Come this way. Follow me."

Marluxia stepped between the webbing of tables and tubes, taking great care with each step.

Vexen soon stopped in front of a large machine. "Here we are. The Chronophilia!"

Marluxia raised an eyebrow. "Chronophilia?"

Vexen frowned. "Not Chronophilia! The Chronophilia!"

"Okay, what does The Chronophilia do?"

Vexen smiled wider than before. "Well, it's not exactly done yet, but it's supposed to remove the years from one person and-"

Marluxia ran up and grabbed Vexen's shirt. "How long will it take to finish it!?"

Vexen shrugged. "Well, it's been a while since I've worked on it. I'd say maybe a day or so. I will need to test it, of course."

Marluxia shook the scientist. "I don't care. I need this machine!"

Vexen nodded. "Okay. All right. It could actually prove beneficial. It's not like my cloning technology has exactly been the best, so maybe a different biological science could be a refreshing change of pace." He walked past Marluxia. "However, I still have another project that needs tending. I'll have Lexaeus come for you when The Chronophilia is finished."

Marluxia sighed. "All right, then. But I certainly hope it doesn't take too long." He wlaked back to the outside of the lab.

---

*Humbert is the main character in the novel Lolita who was attracted to the titular Lolita, Dolores Haze. I figured that Zexion was well read, so he would very likely have read a classic like Lolita.

By the way, as amends for a previous note, in modern culture, Lolita may refer to any girl up to the age of seventeen, as long as their relationship is with someone twenty years or older.

Yeah. I'm using Vexen again to do all the hard work. Why? Because if you want something done wrong, go to the crazy old guy with several million dollars worth of technology and way too much time on his hands. Seriously, how else did you think I was going to approach this?

However, what could possibly go wrong with someone as simple as making a 24-year-old into a teenager? It's not like we're trying to reverse time itself or turn an old woman into a baby. Those are always bound to go wrong. But reducing someone's age by about five to ten years? Plastic surgery does that almost everyday. Of course, Vexen isn't a plastic surgeon. Oh my, what sort of chaos is this going to lead to?

Please enjoy and review.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Let's Play Roulette

Marluxia followed Lexaeus into the lab. He dodged through several tubes. "Lexaeus, how in Nothingness do you actually work in here with how large you are?"

"Practice." Lexaeus continued on is silence.

Marluxia stared after the gigantic man. "Okay." He followed through the pipes and clustered machines.

It wasn't long until the two men stepped into the clearing with Vexen and The Chronophila.

Vexen turned around. "All right, Marluxia. Now, I need to give you a brief description on how our little procedure will play out. The Chronophilia is a very delicate device."

Marluxia waved his hand back and forth and sighed. "Why would it matter to me how delicate the operation of the machine is? I just have to step inside the machine and let you fiddle with the controls."

Vexen gawked at the pink-haired man. "Wait! You don't understand how it works!"

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "I step inside, and it strips away years from my age. It's not that difficult. Just take nine years off, so I'll be fifteen."

Vexen clapped a hand over his forehead and sighed. "Very well." He snapped his fingers and pointed between Lexaeus and Marluxia. "At least take a botulism bag. The Chronophilia could very likely induce motion sickness. It's not like I've had a lot of test subjects."

Marluxia nodded curtly as he took the bag away from Lexaeus. He turned and pulled open the hatch door and stepped inside. He let the door shut behind him and turned around. "It's a bit cramped."

Vexen turned to Lexaeus. "All right, Number Five. It's time to start the machine."

Lexaeus nodded. He shot a fist out and smashed a button into a wall.

Vexen tapped away at a keyboard. He pulled some goggles over his eyes. "Here we go, The Chronophilia. Time for your maiden voyage." He took hold of a large lever and jerked it towards himself.

Inside the capsule, Marluxia leaned against the wall. "Curious. Why would the capsule be separated like this." He felt the machine begin to jerk in one direction. As he adjusted to the beginning spin, he shrugged. "Well, I suppose I machine like this isn't exactly simple. It must house a lot of wiring and other technological whatnot."

The Chronophilia began spinning faster and faster. It looked like a top on steroids, not a single part visible through the spinning's speed.

Marluxia clutched his stomach as he felt himself being pressed outwards by the G-force. He could also feel his clothes shrinking.

Marluxia paused and raised an eyebrow after a moment. "Wait! What's happening to my clothes." He looked down. "My, this crazy machine is psychotic. I wasn't expecting it to actually change my clothes. I haven't worn these sorts of clothes in a long while." His other eyebrow shot up. "Wait a minute."

Outside, Vexen jumped as The Chronophilia began twisting faster. He began pressing various buttons. "Uh-oh."

Marluxia watched as he continued to shrink. He pounded violently on the door. "Vexen! Vexen! What in Nothingness is going on out there!?"

Vexen prodded at the buttons on his control panel. "What is going on here?" The control panel started spinning sparks, causing him to jump back. "What? No!"

Lexaeus sighed. He conjured up his tomahawk and jabbed it into the parting between the base and the main capsule, using it like a train's emergency brake.

Marluxia popped out of The Chronophilia's door and rolled across the floor until he landed at the base of Vexen's control panel. After shaking off his dizziness, he looked around. "What in Nothingness!" He growled, jumped up on the control panel, and grabbed Vexen's shirt. "What is this!? I asked you to take away nine years to make me fifteen, not fifteen years to make me nine!"

A lightly-voiced groan echoed from the back of the The Chronophilia. Out walked Namine. At least, it looked somewhat like Namine, only she was much taller and had a very full hourglass figure.

Marluxia turned his head to see Namine. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. It didn't take so much as a minute, however, for him to grit his teeth and tackle the Chilly Academic. "What happened to Namine, you freak!?"

Vexen pulled the pin-haired child off of himself and held him at arm's length. "I was trying to tell you earlier. The Chronophilia isn't a miracle machine. All those years taken from you had to go somewhere. But you wouldn't listen. You just had to jump ahead without listening.

Marluxia gaped at Vexen. "Why Namine? Why not someone like you or Zexion or somebody who wouldn't be affected from losing a few years?"

Vexen sighed. "She was the only one I found who would do it willingly after hearing the circumstances. Besides, don't you know what chronophilia means? An attraction between two people of different age groups. The Chronophilia was meant to average out the ages so that society would accept such couples better."

Marluxia began thrashing wildly in the scientist's arms. "Curse you, Vexen! I swear, you should label these things or at least froze me in place while giving instructions or something!" He glowered. "I swear I will have Axel come down here in the morning, and you can b-"

Namine walked up and held her arms out. "Can I take Marluxia?"

Vexen handed the writhing boy over. "By all means. He's your responsibility now."

Namine gently scooped Marluxia up by his sides and held him close to the her. "Calm down, Marluxia. Vexen didn't force me or anything."

Panting, Marluxia crossed her arms. "Well, now that I know what this thing does, can you fix us?"

A loud explosion followed sounded behind the trio, followed by Lexaeus flying past them.

Vexen laughed nervously. "It could take a couple days."

Marluxia furrowed his brow. "You know, I really hate you sometimes."

---

First off, the title sounds better if you pronounce it "Roo-lay" instead of "Roo-lett".

Okay, I received a comment that someone believed that Namine was behind this plot. Whereas Namine was more informed on this plan, she is not going to be the evil manipulator. That would be repeating a gag. No, the moral of this story is not "do not trust your sweet, innocent girlfriend," but "listen to instructions and tutorials." You know, like those annoying people who just bought a game and go into playing it, skipping all the instructions and the help guide? It gets so annoying when those people whine about losing all the time.

Anyways, this would be a case of putting the shoe on the other foot. We go from Lolita to Shota. Now, Lolita is quite endearing when the older man is a gentleman, or at least, not a complete pervert. Shota, on the other hand, is usually cutest when the woman is overaffectionate, sweet, and with larger than average breasts, especially when the boy is eye level with her chest. At least, that's my opinion, of course. Besides, we'll get to that next chapter.

Also, I realize people are gonna nail me for increasing the age gap. I just couldn't resist the idea when I thought of what Marluxia would look like. Knickers, ankle boots, and only child paraphernalia clothing. It's especially funny when people dressed like that get angry or violent. Again, in my opinion.

Well, I should probably stop before the a/n is longer than the chapter.

Please enjoy and review.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Taking Care of the Caretaker

Marluxia sat at the kitchen table, kicking his legs and resting his chin on the table. "Look, Namine, I'm sorry. I should have listened. To both Vexen and you."

Namine stood over the stove, watching some eggs patiently. "It's not a big problem, Marluxia. I mean, it's not like you killed anyone or something like that."

Marluxia crossed his arms in front of his face. "I know, but that doesn't excuse of the results that did come to pass." He turned to Namine and gestured frantically. "Honestly, I took away fifteen years of your life."

Namine laughed as she flipped the eggs in the pan. "Actually, with how Vexen described it, _I_ took fifteen years of _your_ life."

Marluxia shook his head and sighed. "That's not what I meant. Think of all those years you could have had to grow up, and now you can't." He turned back to the table and buried his face in his arms. "I was stupid and turned you into a thirty year old in the process."

Namine smiled as she scooped the eggs out of the pan and onto a plate. "I offered as soon as Vexen told me the situation. It's not your fault after any fashion."

Marluxia just hid his face.

Namine walked over to the table and sat across from the pink-haired boy. She placed the plate in front of him and patted his head. "Marluxia, your childishness is beginning to show."

Marluxia peeked over his arms. "It's because I've been changed into a kid." He turned his head and pouted. "Of course, I guess this form better examples my common sense."

Namine's eyes softened as she watched the young Marluxia. "Marly, there's no need for you to sulk. I was able to figure out why you would plan on using Marluxia's gadget," she blushed, "and I think it's very sweet of you. Now, eat the breakfast I made you."

Marluxia cast a sidelong glance at the eggs and turned away again. "I don't deserve it."

Namine huffed. "And why do you think that? They're just eggs. It's not like I tried making you a gourmet meal or something."

Marluxia shrunk further into his chair. "I know, but you should be mad at me. Scolding me for my lack of judgment. Ask me what I was thinking. Not treating me so nicely."

"Well, first off, Vexen told me I was in charge of you, like you used to be in charge of me, so I don't know why I wouldn't treat you nicely, seeing how you treated me nicely." Namine blushed lightly. "As for what you were thinking, I already told you that I knew what you you planning, and I think it was very sweet. Besides, haven't you ever heard that it's the thought that counts?"

Marluxia turned a little towards Namine, raising an eyebrow. He didn't raise his head after any fashion though.

"As for being mad at you, I'm not upset about becoming older." She crossed her arms and started furrowing her brow. "However, with how childish you're becoming you're starting to irritate me a little. I already told you things weren't your fault, and you should just accept that and go on with your life."

Marluxia sighed, beginning to sink down again.

Namine's face reddened darkly, and her brow snapped down in a V-shape. "You know, you're tempting me to punish you."

Marluxia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by punish?"

Namine's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You know, it might have been best if you didn't let Larxene and Axel help take care of me."

Marluxia's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean by that?"

Namine's smirk grew. "Do you really want to find out?"

Marluxia jumped and started shoveling eggs into his mouth.

Namine smiled, and her skin paled to normal. "That's better." She paused and blinked a couple times. A placed a thoughtful finger on her chin and looked up at the ceiling. "Now, what else did you use to do to take care of me?"

---

You know, I believe that Namine would a very mothering character if she was the older one.

Now, when I first started writing this specific sort of story. One, because I thought it'd be cute to see them switch roles. Two, well, that takes a little bit deeper of a reason.

You see, I love the Marumine pairing. However, there's this unfortunate fact about most of the shippers, and you people know who you are if you are reading this. For some odd reason, most of the Marumine stories seem to say the authors think the pairing is "Rape-tastic!" or something. I'm not going to bad mouth them. I'm just going to say that I prefer my stories a bit more morally clean. (no mentioned or implied sex). I'm just sick of Marluxia being portrayed as a sexual predator and Namine as some pitiful pleasure toy.

Okay, I'm feeling uncomfortable with where I'm going with this, so I'll end now.

Please enjoy and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Marluxia shifted slightly in bed as he began to wake up. He opened his eyes ever so slightly to see Namine sitting over him. He jumped. "What in Nothingness!?"

Namine smiled down at Marluxia and patted him on the head. "Good morning, Marluxia?"

Marluxia sat up in the bed and looked around. "Wh... where am I?" He clutched the sides of his head. "Wait! Did I sleep with you all night?"

Namine laughed. "Well, it was rather cute. You fell asleep right in my arms."

Marluxia swallowed. "Really?" He shifted his weight uneasily in the bed. "And this was in your arms, right?"

Namine nodded. "Don't worry, Marluxia. You fell asleep quickly and heavily. I doubt you would have woken, even if I had dropped you." She paused and jumped. "Of course, it's not like I would do such a thing. It would be extremely rude."

Marluxia held his hands up defensively. "Don't worry about it. Nothing happened, and no harm was done. I was probably just drained from yesterday's events. You know, growing down probably takes more energy growing up."

"Growing?" Namine blinked a couple times. "Speaking of growing, we should probably see about taking care of your garden." She stood up and held out her hand. "Come on."

Marluxia blushed lightly as he placed his hand in Namine's. "You don't need to help me, Namine. I might be shorter, but I can still take care of a garden."

Namine smiled. "I know, but it's been a while since I've seen it."

Marluxia placed a thoughtful finger on his chin. "Well, I guess that's true."

Namine tugged the pink-haired boy along. "Let's get going."

---

In the massive conservatory, Namine and Marluxia stood at the edge of a large flower garden.

Namine walked over to the tool shed at the far side of the conservatory. She pulled open the door and looked inside.

Marluxia walked over to the open door and inside the shed. "I already told you, Namine. You don't need to worry about a thing." He picked up a large watering can and walked out again. He walked over to the faucet, put the watering can down, and turned the water on. After watching the watering can fill up, he turned the faucet off and walked back over to the can.

Namine bit her lower lip. "Um, Marluxia, are you sure about this?"

Marluxia tugged on the watering can. "Don't worry." He grunted as he tried to pick the full watering can up. "I'm fine."

Namine placed a concernedly curled finger on her chin. "I don't know. That looks awfully heavy."

Marluxia grunted and groaned a few more times. "I can take care of it, Namine." He finally pulled the watering can up and began walking towards the garden.

Namine raised her concerned finger to point over at Marluxia. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

Marluxia was teetering as he walked. "Don't worry, Namine. I'm fi-i-i-i-i-"

Namine ran over and grabbed the watering can and Marluxia before the young boy could fall.

Marluxia blushed lightly. He swallowed and smiled sheepishly up at Namine, a slight blush careening across his face. "Well, maybe I should start thinking about installing a sprinkler system."

Namine smiled. "Until then, how about I help you with the garden?" She pulled the watering can out of the boy's hands.

Marluxia nodded numbly. "Probably a good idea."

Namine pushed Marluxia onto his feet. She walked past him and began watering the garden.

---

Namine and Marluxia were walking down the hall, dirt splotched on their hands and cheeks.

Marluxia looked up at the older Namine. "Thank you. I guess I haven't adjusted to this new body yet."

Namine nodded. "Well, I figured that, even though Vexen said he'd have that machine up and running again in just a few days, I'm not sure if he was telling the truth or just trying to stall your anger. So it'd probably be best if I learned how to take care of you and your jobs for the time being."

Marluxia blushed lightly. "Thank you, Namine." He walked ahead a few steps to hide his blush. "That is sweet and thoughtful of you."

Namine blushed as well. "Well, you always take such good care of me."

Larxene and Axel were just about to round the corner, when they turned and noticed the two on the other side of the corner. They jumped back.

Larxene turned to Axel. "Did you see what I just saw?"

Axel clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly. "A perfect opportunity to mess with someone's head?"

Larxene blinked a couple times. "Well, I was going to say that it seemed as though Marluxia and Namine had switched ages or something, but sure. I could go with that."

Axel rolled his eyes and stepped past his female friend. "Just watch."

Marluxia walked past he corner, not even turning to look at Larxene and Axel. When Namine walked past, though, she found her foot to be caught on a booted foot, and she began to fall forward, screaming.

Marluxia turned around. "What's wrong, Na-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Namine toppled on top of the pink-haired boy.

Marluxia found his face getting caught in between Namine's breasts as he was pinned to the ground. Only his eyes showed, but the entirety of his face began to glow red.

Namine pushed herself up. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Marluxia!"

With his face still shining, the only trace of the offenders was the sound of hysterical laughter. He stood up and brushed himself off. "It's all right, Namine."

Namine pulled Marluxia in and ended up stuffing him between her cleavage again. "Really, I didn't mean to fall on top of you."

Marluxia's words were muffled, but his thoughts rang clearly. _That's not really the pro- _The blood rushing to his head forced him to pass out.

---

Okay, I don't necessarily have much to talk about, concerning the chapter. I just think Namine would be rather affectionate. Maybe even too affectionate. Also, I don't think Younger boys are supposed to have nosebleeds. Also, like before, nothing like Axel and Larxene's mischief to ruin a touching moment.

However, I do have something else to talk about concerning Marumine. I mean, there are those who naturally sip Marumine, but quite a few people's writing makes it sound as though the two characters, Namine and Marluxia, are consolation prizes.

Let me explain. Now, this all would probably start with the most popular pairing, AkuRoku (Now, before anyone jumps down my throat about this, I'm just talking about the pairing. I am not bad-mouthing yaoi.). Now, this might sound a little weird, except that the most popular _straight _Axel pairing is Larxel. However, under the condition that AkuRoku is supposed to be the supported pairing, who does Larxene usually get paired with? Namine, for yuri to balance out yaoi, or Marluxia, because their supposedly best friends (I realize that some people initially ship these pairings, but I'm talking about the ones who even start their stories with the fact that the character is jealous or been dumped in the beginning of the fanfic.). Namine gets treated similarly to Larxene because of AkuRoku. Now, what really makes this worse is when Marluxia turns to Namine because Larxene died or decided to betray him or something. When you add up all the math, you're finding that Marluxia and Namine happen to usually be second or third class consolation prizes. I don't know about you, but that'd hurt my pride if I were a video game character.

Again, I am not trying to badmouth pairings. Rather, I am badmouthing the people who need to learn this simple, yet ever so important lesson: Ship the pairings you ship and don't use other pairings simply as an excuse to pair everyone off! It gets annoying, and you can completely see it in your writing style! Of course, I don't know why I'm yelling this because the people who need to hear it probably aren't reading this story. Oh well.

Please enjoy and review.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Keeping a Cougar in the Castle

Marluxia groggily opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he had a splitting headache. He placed his hand on his forehead, but felt a wet cloth instead. That was when he noticed that he also had a thermometer in his mouth and what felt like two extra blankets on top of him. He moved the little glass stick to the side of his mouth and looked around. "Wha-What happened?"

Namine turned around. "Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness!" She ran over. "I was so worried when you became so feverish and passed out."

Marluxia sat up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." He swallowed, forcing his eyes to stay on the blond woman's face.

Namine crossed her arms and pouted. "Well, you sure didn't do much to stop it. You were out for almost eighteen hours."

Marluxia's eyes grew wide. "Eighteen hours!? Did I suffer some form of blood loss or something?"

Namine shook her head. "No. But you were incredibly feverish, and your face was all red." She slapped her hands over her face and began to sob. "I must be pretty bad at this caretaking stuff."

Marluxia jumped and threw his hands up defensively. "No no no no no no no no! It's not your fault. You didn't do anything."

Namine peeked from behind her hands. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter now. Vexen told me that he had The Chronophilia fixed up again about two hours ago."

Marluxia furrowed his brow. "So it is fixed."

Namine nodded. "And he said that he wanted us to come down as soon as you had woken up." She held out her hand.

Marluxia took hold of Namine's hand and stood up. He silently followed her out of the door.  
As the two walked down the hall, Marluxia cast a sidelong glance up at the adult Namine. "You know, I already told you that this wasn't your fault."

Namine sniffed. "I know." She swallowed. "It's just that I was hoping to do a better job." She wiped one of her eyes with the heel of her palm. "I mean, you always make it look so easy when you take care of me. I couldn't even take care of you for two days without you getting sick."

"Namine, I'm not sick, and I wasn't sick." A light blush crossed Marluxia's face.

Namine sniffed a couple more times, tears brimming her eyes. "But I even fell on top of you. You never fell on top of me."

Marluxia rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I guess that's true."  
Tears began to leak from Namine's eyes.

Marluxia swallowed. "But it's not like you meant to fall on top of me, so it wasn't your fault."

Namine nodded. "That's true."

Marluxia went silent as they continued down the hall. He couldn't help watching Namine as they went, though.

As they stood in front of the door to the lab, Marluxia cast one more sidelong glance up at Namine. "You really wanted to take care of me, didn't you?"

Namine took a deep breath and sighed. "Oh, it wasn't that big of a deal." She knocked on the door. "Besides, like I said before, it's not like it matters now."

Vexen opened the door not long after the knock. "Well, here you two are. Now, let's get in and fix this whole stupid mess." He led the two back deep into the lab and gestured to a massive machine. "Now, I can't guarantee that the ride will be nearly as smooth as last time, but it should work."

Marluxia frowned. "You call that last ride smooth?"

"Fast, a little nauseating, but smooth nonetheless." Vexen held his hand out to Namine. "Now, let's get you set up first." He tugged her away from the pink-haired boy.

Marluxia hid one of his hands behind his back and snapped his fingers sharply.

Suddenly, The Chronophilia began to implode. Pieces of the exterior began to scrunch as the entire machine began to shrink down into a pancake.

Vexen grabbed the sides of his head. "What in Nothingness is going on!?"

Marluxia walked up beside Namine. "My, it seems as though that ride would have been even rougher than you suggested." He turned to Vexen. "Did you even check the thing's stability?"

"The stability?" Vexen fell to his knees and picked up a few loose pieces. "It'll take months for me to even order all the parts, let alone fit them back together. "I mean, it was salvageable last time, but this is strictly a disaster. Do you have any idea how long it took me to build it the first time?"

"Nope. And I'd rather not think about it." Marluxia took hold of Namine's hand. "Come on, Namine. Let's leave the Chilly Academic to his work." He tugged her along.

Namine blinked blankly at the confounded Vexen. "Um, okay, Marluxia."

---

Hahahahaha! I bet noone (but me) was expecting this for the ending. Of course, if you had paid attention to the two Namine stories, you would have figured out that the problem usually ends up being the resolution. Well, enough explanation. At least it was unexpected, and that makes for a good story.

Anyways, in case nobody understood the title, a Cougar is the opposite of a Cradle Robber. Well, by that, I mean a cougar is a woman who dates particularly younger men. There is even a class called a Cougar Cub which is a young woman who aspires to be a cougar (a teenager who dates eight-year-olds?). Anyways, just so noone gets the wrong impression of me, it's amazing what all you can find on Wikipedia, even if you're not looking for it, like the Japanese were the first to invent breast implants.

......... Well, I guess that's enough for now. Please, enjoy and review.


	7. Afterword

A note before this last chapter: All characters are in their original states, untampered by any of the six previous stories.

Afterword.... I think. What is an afterword, anyways?

Axel, Larxene, Marluxia, and Namine all stood around a table with several bottles on it. They were all laughing as Marluxia flipped open the first bottle.

Axel sighed. "Well, I guess this is pretty much it, huh?"

Larxene nodded. "I'll admit, this whole thing was fun and all, but you know how it goes, the fun must end at some point." She pouted. "Though I wish it didn't have to."

After filling the glasses, Marluxia put the bottle down and picked up a glass for himself. "Ah, but it had to end sometime. I mean, where would it go from here?" He patted Namine on the head. "If we hadn't switched to Namine, the stories might have ended with Axel Wants a Prom."

Axel shuddered as he picked up a glass. "Don't remind me. I mean, that story was okay, but why didn't I get some socially awkward story like all of you guys?"

Larxene laughed. "Mostly because you were the reason why everyone else's life became socially awkward in the other stories!"

Namine giggled as she pointed at Larxene. "Well, if I'm not mistaken, Axel wasn't the on;y one who helped me enhance my figure in Namine Wants to Be Sexy."

Larxene shrugged as she held up her glass. "Speaking of Namine Wants to Be Sexy," she raised her glass in the air, "I propose a hearty toast to Kingdomheartsgirl101, for inspiring our author to get off his lazy butt and write that story."

The other three raised their glasses. "To Kingdomheartsgir1l01!"

As they began drinking, Namine and Marluxia were fine, but Axel and Larxene spat out their drinks.

"What in Nothingness!" Axel glared down at his glass. "This tastes like sparkling cider!"

"That's because it is sparkling cider," said Namine.

Axel and Larxene both raised an eyebrow.

Marluxia sighed as he swiveled his glass. "Even though Alcohol Reference is allowed in E-rated games, it wasn't on the Kingdom Hearts content list." He took another sip. "Luxord and Xigbar were able to get away with it because they're associated with pirates."

Axel grumbled something beneath his breath.

Larxene crossed her arms. "Anyways, this is it, huh? Having a toasting party at the end of the hexology."

Axel shrugged. "Well, let's see, we've dealt with breasts, pregnant, Lolita complex, Shota complex, full figures, and simple romance. The only things we could do from here were using Vexen's cloning technology to make harems out of Larxene and Namine."

Larxene raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Marluxia shook his head. "That'd seem rather ridiculous. I mean, Namine and Larxene already live in an environment for a reverse harem anime. Most people would probably find it pointless to turn the girls into a harem."

Namine looked up at the Marluxia. "Oh, would you not want to star in another story with me?"

Marluxia jumped. "Well, how about instead of worrying about the future, we be thankful for the past." He raised his glass. "A toast to our readers, as thanks for reading our past stories."

The other three raised their glasses. "To our readers!"

A piece of paper fluttered down from the ceiling.

Axel snatched the paper. "Huh? What's this?"

Larxene looked over the redhead's shoulder. "It looks like some disclaimers."

Axel squinted his eyes. "Yeah, but 'As a note from MasterofHearts1313 to all female readers, the events of stories like Larxene Wants Boobs and Namine Wants to Be Sexy are not to make you feel uncomfortable about your image. You are all attractive as you are'?" He turned to Larxene. "What kind of corny fanfic disclaimer is that?"

Larxene poked Axel's nose. "Probably someone who respects women. Maybe even a woman."

Marluxia shook his head. "I don't know, I think it would take a guy to write something as centered around breasts as Larxene Wants Boobs."

Suddenly, a thunderous voice echoed through the room. "Quit debating my gender!"

Namine nodded. "Does it matter? The author wrote the stories, and the readers read them."

Marluxia nodded, raising his glass. "Again, a toast to the readers."

Everyone raised their glasses and and drained them.


End file.
